Live facial recognition will be rolled out across every police force in England and Wales, as part of the UK government’s most significant overhaul of policing in 200 years. The new plans, outlined by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, include a nationwide deployment of facial recognition vans, rising from 10 to 50 units aimed at tracking criminals on police watchlists. The technology will be supervised by a new national centre for artificial intelligence (AI), Police.AI, which is also tasked with ensuring ethical use of the technology.
These measures are part of a broader set of reforms detailed in the government’s White Paper on policing, which includes the creation of the National Police Service (NPS). The NPS will combine several national law enforcement agencies, including the National Crime Agency, Counter-Terrorism Policing, and National Roads Policing, under a single umbrella to tackle serious and organized crime. Work to establish the NPS will begin this year, with full implementation expected by the next Parliament.
Policing Reforms and Concerns
Under the proposed changes, the number of police forces in England and Wales will be reduced significantly, from 43 to 10 or 12 large regional forces. These larger entities will manage policing across much broader areas, with each local council ward having a contactable officer. While these reforms aim to centralize operations and improve response times for serious crimes, critics argue that the sheer size of the new police forces may dilute local accountability and hinder effective community policing.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp expressed concern that the mergers could result in distant police forces, less connected to the communities they serve, with resources diverted away from rural areas and smaller towns toward urban centers. Ben Priestley, national officer for policing at Unison, also warned that mergers would require significant investment, at a time when police forces are already facing a projected budget shortfall of £1 billion by 2027.
In a related move, police officers will be required to obtain a new “licence to practice,” while the Home Secretary will be granted the authority to sack underperforming chief constables or intervene in failing forces. Local police and crime commissioners (PCCs), whose roles are set to be phased out by 2028, have also criticized the proposals. Some have warned that large regional forces would be too slow to respond to local issues, weakening the ability of citizens to hold police accountable.
As part of the wider reform, £115 million will be invested in setting up the Police.AI center over the next three years. The center’s aim is to free officers from paperwork and enhance the use of AI across various policing functions, including facial recognition technology. A public consultation is currently underway to determine how facial recognition should be regulated, ensuring privacy protections are upheld.
The national rollout of facial recognition vans will align with existing standards used by the Metropolitan Police, but the legal framework for their use remains based on a patchwork of data protection and human rights laws. The Home Secretary’s office has stated that future legislation will aim to provide clearer guidelines on the use of this controversial technology.
